With praise, I hope. But the specific question is — this past week, a global outreach staff person in a large local church emailed, asking for “some sort of resource/questionnaire/book to guide young minds and hearts that are considering overseas mission work. If a young person comes to you and says, “I think God might be calling me to Africa, what do you give them? What do you ask them? What do you tell them to do?” My shooting-from-the-hip response was to recommend the book, “Send Me! Your Journey to the Nations.”
In this book, Steve Hoke and Bill Taylor outline a very thoughtful and intentional process for a recruit, perhaps in cooperation with the global outreach minister and the local church, can begin preparation well in advance of any actual departure date. But do you have other such resources you would have recommended? In particular, what if the prospective recruit is on the younger side? Maybe the “Send me” book is a bit too much for a very young recruit? Got a favorite? If so, please just click “Comment” after the web version of this item. Thanks in advance for any help!
Yes! This is the one we recommend too. Add to it the variety of answers found on http://www.AskaMissionary.com.
There is a good 6 part blog series at The Go Business called “How do we prepare for Missions” at: http://thegobusiness.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/how-do-we-prepare-for-missions/. Obviously not as thorough as Send Me. Which I believe is now called “Global Mission Handbook” right, found here: http://www.amazon.com/Global-Mission-Handbook-Crosscultural-Service-ebook/dp/B007W6BLFS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408904194&sr=8-2&keywords=send+me+taylor+hoke
See also “Skills, Knowledge, Character: A Church- Base Approach to Missionary Candidate Preparation” by Greg Carter, 2010.
Turtle River Press,
153 Bedford Ct, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383
Phone (219) 241-4426
Email turtleriverpress@gmail.com
Several thoughts come to mind:
1/ This is the first version of the newer book by Hoke & Taylor. If you look carefully enough on the Internet, you can find it in PDF format for free!
2/ The newer version is: Global Mission Handbook: A Guide for Crosscultural Service http://smile.amazon.com/Global-Mission-Handbook-Crosscultural-Service/dp/0830837175/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408998947&sr=8-1&keywords=hoke+taylor
3/ The newest and best pre-field prep book out there is David Frazier’s Mission Smart: 15 Critical Questions To Ask Before Launching Overseas http://smile.amazon.com/Mission-Smart-Critical-Questions-Launching/dp/1492339261/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408999045&sr=8-1&keywords=mission+smart+david+frazier
4/ Propempo.com has a whole path/track on missionary preparation online at: http://propempo.com/book/missionary
5/ Then, the most succinct and useful book might be: HERE to THERE: Getting From Commitment to Commissioning http://smile.amazon.com/HERE-THERE-Getting-Commitment-Commissioning-ebook/dp/B00J9V1E9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408999200&sr=8-1&keywords=here+to+there+meade or the CROSS paperback version at: http://smile.amazon.com/HERE-THERE-Getting-CROSS-Missions/dp/0989988902/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408999200&sr=8-3&keywords=here+to+there+meade
5/ NOTHING beats the gracious involvement of the candidate’s own local church in mentoring, supporting, sending, and shepherding them to the field!
David@Propempo.com
Great stuff, David!
If the person is just at the “thinking about it” stage, the book, I THINK GOD WANTS ME TO BE A MISSIONARY, would be an easy-read story of four young people who go to their pastor with that statement, yet in the process of time a whole bunch of “issues” come up. http://eri.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42&Itemid=31